An announcement that La Niña has formed could come soon. The climate pattern will play a major role in our winter weather.

In its forecast for “meteorological winter,” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that La Niña will make December, January and February colder and wetter than normal in several parts of the U.S., including Western Washington.

With autumn well underway, Californians are eager to know whether it'll be a wet or dry winter. Here's what meteorologists say with La Niña expected to develop.

La Niña is an ocean surface temperature condition where the equatorial Pacific Ocean surface water turns cooler than normal. It’s the opposite ocean water condition from the better known warm-water El Niño.